What is a high interest savings account?
High interest savings accounts typically offer higher rates of interest than traditional savings accounts, and break down into three main types:
Instant access savings accounts
These accounts offer instant access to your funds. Many offer a low base rate of interest, and bonus interest only if you make limited withdrawals and/or increase your account balance each month.
Notice savings accounts and term deposits
A notice savings account requires a saver to give prior notice of any cash withdrawal, for example 30 or 90 days’ notice. Money in term deposits are tied up for a fixed term, from a few months up to five years. While you can still usually access your money early if it’s in a term savings account, it can be a complicated procedure and you could face penalty charges.
Term deposits and notice savings accounts tend to offer higher rates of interest than instant access savings accounts. You can read our latest round-up of the best term deposit rates here.
PIE funds
PIE funds are low-risk investment products that function like term deposits. However, because they invest your savings (usually in very low risk assets like cash and bonds), any interest you earn is taxed at your your prescribed investor rate (PIR), which is lower than your personal income tax rate – meaning you get better returns on your savings.
Because of the tax breaks involved, PIE funds offer the best returns across savings accounts. You can read more about PIE Funds vs Term Deposits here, or for the best current PIE fund rates, click here.
However, currently, interest rates across all types of savings accounts are not particularly high. The average rate of interest offered across high interest savings accounts on Canstar’s database is just 1.88% p.a., which is down from 3.31% a year ago.
However, it’s worth noting that the RBNZ’s Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) is now in effect. The DCS provides insurance for deposits up to $100,000 per deposit taker, when the money is held in accounts that are covered by the DCS legislation. This means there’s less risk involved when chasing higher savings returns, especially with non-bank deposit takers.
All the banks below are covered by the DCS, and we’ve highlighted the non-bank deposit takers that are part of the scheme, plus those that hold funds with NZ banks covered by the scheme. But be aware that PIE funds are a bit of a grey area, because of their investment nature, and innovative investment products such as Booster Savvy are not covered by the DCS at all.
If you have any concerns about whether your choice of savings account or PIE fund product is covered by the DCS, just ask your provider. All savings accounts covered by the DCS should be clearly marked with the DCS logo:
All rates correct as of 12/01/2026.
Best savings accounts
If you’re currently considering a savings account, the table below displays some of the best savings accounts on our database (some may have links to lenders’ websites). The list includes accounts that require notice on withdrawals.
This table is sorted by total interest (including bonus) (highest to lowest), followed by company name (alphabetical). Products shown are for savings of $10,000. Before committing to a particular savings account product, check upfront with your financial institution and read the applicable documentation to confirm whether the terms of the account meet your needs. Use Canstar’s savings account selector to view a wider range of savings account products. Canstar may earn a fee for referrals.
Compare savings accounts for free with Canstar!
Best bank high-interest savings accounts
Below we’ve listed the interest rates offered by the instant-access and notice savings accounts from major deposit takers in NZ.
ANZ
ANZ has one high interest savings account:
Serious Saver: up to 1.50% p.a.
Serious Saver has a lower base interest rate, but offers premium interest if you make no withdrawals and deposit $20 or more (excluding interest) each month.
- 0.40% base interest rate
- 1.10% bonus interest rate
- Allows access to your savings if you need to and still earn base interest rate (one free withdrawal per month)
- $5 per month for two or more withdrawals
ASB
ASB has one high interest savings account:
Savings Plus: up to 1.60% p.a.
Savings Plus has a lower base interest rate, but offers premium interest if you make limited withdrawals.
- 0.05% base interest rate
- 1.55% bonus interest rate
- To earn base interest plus full reward interest, you can only make one withdrawal on the first day of the month
BNZ
BNZ has one high interest savings account:
Rapid Save: 1.70% p.a.
- One free withdrawal per bank month; $3 fee for each additional withdrawal
Heartland Bank
Heartland Bank has two high interest savings accounts:
Digital Saver: 2.05% p.a.
- Unlimited withdrawals to any nominated NZ bank account
- No fees on digital transactions or minimum monthly deposit requirements
- $10 fee for staff-assisted withdrawals
Direct Call: 1.65% p.a.
- Free payments to any nominated NZ bank account
- No fees or minimum monthly deposit
Plus two fee-free notice savings accounts:
- 32 Day Notice Saver: 2.70% p.a.
- 90 Day Notice Saver: 2.95% p.a.
Canstar’s annual research reveals the best savings products in New Zealand, and for the past eight years Heartland Bank has taken home our Bank of the Year Savings Award. You can read more about Heartland Bank’s award win here.
Kiwibank
Kiwibank has one high interest savings account:
Online Call: 1.25% p.a.
- Add and withdraw funds at any time via internet banking
- No minimum monthly deposit or monthly fees
Plus two fee-free notice savings accounts:
- 32 Day Notice Saver: 1.55% p.a.
- 90 Day Notice Saver: 2.10% p.a.
Rabobank
Rabobank has two high interest savings accounts:
- PremiumSaver
- RaboSaver
PremiumSaver: up to 2.25% p.a. on balances up to $100,000
PremiumSaver has a lower base interest rate than RaboSaver, but offers premium interest if you increase your balance by at least $50 each month (excluding interest).
- 0.70% base interest rate
- 1.55% bonus interest rate
- Unlimited free withdrawals
RaboSaver: up to 1.30% p.a. on balances up to $5 million
- Unlimited free withdrawals
Plus one fee-free notice saver account, on balances up to $5 million:
- 60 Day Notice Saver: 2.55% p.a.
The Co-operative Bank
The Co-operative Bank has one high interest savings account:
Step Saver: up to 2.00% p.a.
Step Saver has a lower base interest rate, but offers premium interest if you increase your account balance and make no more than one withdrawal each month.
- 0.55% base interest rate
- 1.45% bonus interest rate
- No monthly charges or transaction fees to other Co-operative accounts
- $2.50 manual withdrawal fee
TSB
TSB has one high interest savings account:
Websaver Account: 1.00% p.a.
- No account fees
- Unlimited free withdrawals
- Requires a TSB everyday account
- $3 fee for staff-assisted withdrawals
Westpac
Westpac has one high interest savings account:
Westpac Bonus Saver: 1.25% p.a.
Bonus Saver has a lower base interest rate, but offers premium interest if you increase your account balance by at least $20 each month.
- 0.05% base interest rate
- 1.20% bonus interest rate
- No account fees
- Unlimited free withdrawals
- $2.50 fee for staff-assisted withdrawals
Plus one fee-free notice saver account:
- 32 Day Notice Saver: 3% p.a.
Best non-bank high-interest savings accounts
Booster Savvy
Booster Savvy isn’t a normal bank account. Instead it’s a digital investment account, that offers many of the features of a typical bank account, such as physical and digital debit cards.
Booster Savvy: 2.25% p.a.
- Innovative features to boost your savings
- No account or transaction fees
It’s important to note that Booster Savvy is a managed investment scheme. Always read a scheme’s Product Disclosure Statement before investing.
Christian Savings
Christian Savings has a three-tiered savings account that offer instant access to funds:
Call deposit: up to 1.60% p.a.
- Balances $50,000 and over: 1.60% p.a.
- Balances $20,000-$49,999: 1.40% p.a.
- Balances up to $20,000: 1.25% p.a.
- Christian Savings is covered by the RBNZ’s Depositor Compensation Scheme
Debut
Debut is a digital wallet that offers many of the features of a typical bank account, such as savings accounts and physical and digital debit cards. One of Debut’s unique features is that it offers a standard interest rate across its savings and transaction accounts.
Debut: 2.15% p.a.
- Innovative features to boost your savings
- No account or transaction fees
- Funds held in trust with an NZ bank
Dosh
Dosh is a digital wallet that offers many of the features of a typical bank, such as savings accounts, physical and digital debit and rewards cards and home and personal loans.
Strive: 2.10% p.a.
- Set savings goals to boost your savings
- No account or transaction fees
- Funds held in trust with an NZ bank
Kernel Wealth
Kernel offers its investors one savings account, which is accessed through the Kernel digital wallet.
Smart Saver: 1.80% p.a.
- No account or transaction fees
- Funds held by an NZ bank
Sharesies
Sharesies offers one standard savings account through its app:
Save: 1.60% p.a.
- No account or transaction fees
- Instant access to your savings
- Sharesies platform fees apply
- Funds held in trust with an NZ bank
Squirrel
Squirrel’s On-Call savings account offers easy access to funds, plus a competitive interest rate:
On-Call: 2.00% p.a.
- No account or transaction fees
- Quick access to funds, 9am-11pm seven days per week via the Squirrel app
- Funds held in trust with an NZ bank
Xceda
Xceda’s super saver account offers a competitive interest rate:
On Call Super Saver: 2.25% p.a.
- No account or transaction fees
- Minimum $100 deposit
- Easy online access
- Withdraw money in one business day
- Funds covered by the RBNZ’s Depositor Compensation Scheme
About the author of this page
Bruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ’s Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the Driven, Stuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines and newspapers, including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery puzzle book 5 Minute Murder.
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